Local German media are reporting that Musk mentioned at the event that Tesla is looking to build Tesla Semi at the factory:
“I think it makes sense to produce the Tesla Semi in Europe in Gigafactory Berlin.”
I am surprise by the statement, since Telsa Semi is not optimised for EU regulation, especially length.
- US: Semi-Trailers can be up to 21.34 meters long.
- EU: Semi-Trailers can be up to 18.55 meters long.
Wouldn’t that just be their smaller semi given it’d be taking smaller loads?
Things are closer in the EU as well so the smaller ones would have more available routes.
Edit: maybe the smaller one isn’t actually smaller, it’s just missing the aero top. Could just be a side by side perspective illusion
Is the difference in length mainly due to the tractor, the trailer, or a bit of both?
Wikipedia says Europe uses mainly the shorter cab-over-engine tractors in order to maximize trailer length while staying under the total length limit. They commonly pull standard ISO shipping containers, so in that case at least the difference is all in the tractor.
I don’t know.
The stated mission of Tesla is to help transition the world to sustainable energy. Electric motors are much smaller than diesel, so I can’t imagine a shorter cab design would be a big deal.
Europe needs an electrified semi and if I’ve read correctly, Tesla’s semi is much more efficient than the others.
Freight volume especially for a heavier electric truck is very important, because it is already limited by freight mass. There are already electric trucks for example by MAN on the EU market and the response seems pretty good. Not so much hype as everything Tesla does, though.
https://www.man.eu/de/en/truck/electric-trucks/overview.html
